OUTDOOR WANDERINGS

For five years I painted outdoors. I didn't like painting in a studio.  

 I was so happy to be able to walk and hike and be out and about in natural places. I appreciated every minute of being in a wild place no matter how cold or warm it was.

Evening Lights Study, 8x16 oil

 In 1988 I was injured after being hit by a car while standing in a cross walk. For 10 years I was unable to walk for any length of time. A surgeon repaired my broken bones but the damage I sustained was extensive.   

Maine Field & Pine, 4x8 oil

I spent eight hours a day in physical therapy. I swam three miles a day to build up my endurance.  In 1998 I started practicing a spiritual cultivation practice called Falun Dafa. After practicing every morning for a couple of months all my injuries healed and I could run, jump and hike again! I had my health and life back!  It was great! 

Island Study, 6x12 oil

When I was in physical therapy all those years  I'd have visions of landscapes. When I started to paint again the first thing I painted were landscapes. 

Lake Night Study, 8x10 oil

 The first year that I painted outdoors I went once a week with a good friend.

Autumn Marsh Study, 8x10 oil 

Later that summer I traveled with my husband Marcus on his concert tours and brought my paints with me. I discovered that I really liked painting alone.

Three Bridges Study, 6x12 oil

 I soon went out to paint everyday. I loved to go on "painting wanders". I'd hop in the car and drive any where I felt like going.  

Red Sky Marsh Study, 8x16 oil

I'd see a spot, stop, park the car and paint. It was like being in heaven...healthy and free at last.  

Rockland LIghts Study, 8x16 oil

I know how lucky I am. 

Salt Bay Farm Study, 8x16 oil

PAINT EAT SLEEP

Painters at Turbat's Creek

Turbat's Creek in Cape Porpoise is a piece of southern Maine coastline that has the same look as 40 years ago. The cluster of traditional fish shacks is still there. The water in the creek is cleaner now than it was then. 

It's a favorite spot for painters. When you visit you will know why.

Island View, 16x20, oil

At low tide the creek is so shallow you can wade through it and walk out to the nearby island.

All kinds of old dock pilings poke out of the sand on the edge of the creek near the fish shacks.

It was sunny and warm on this day. I chose this location for a meeting of Plein Air Painters of Maine. When I arrived Ellen And Flo were already busy painting.

Flo had a big solar umbrella that kept both her and the easel out of the direct sun, so she could see her colors clearly.

Barbara arrived and tucked herself in under the shade of some small trees for a good view of the back of the fish houses.

Carol went out on the pebbly beach near the harbor. Painters were all over the place! It was a hub of productive activity on the creek today.

I spied a nice patch of marsh grass with tidal pools looking toward Vaughn's Island. 

I sketched my design in pencil.

Next I painted in the view on my panel in burnt sienna. I marked my dark areas and looked at the shapes I was placing. 

I put in colors and kept building the shapes in a three dimensional form as I went.

The day started out perfectly clear. In the early afternoon clouds began to fill the sky. 

It was actually nice to have some relief from the sun. The cast shadows made the landscape look more interesting.

When I had arrived at Turbat's Creek in the morning the tide was low and still going out.

Recently I've been painting larger on location. Today I was painting a mid-size painting and finished most of it on site. 

My husband Marcus arrived by mid-afternoon and set his easel up by the boat launch near a fish shack. 

Painters arrived and departed all day long, some came early, others came late in the day depending on their preference for lighting conditions.  Suzanne arrived to paint the late afternoon light from a nice vantage point on the the rocky beach. 

There were many visitors coming by all day. It was great! I saw friends I hadn't seen since last summer. I'd stop to talk to them then continue on with my painting. 

The sun dropped lower in the west, and the colors on the land, sky and water were beautiful. This is my favorite time of the day to paint. 

Long shadows stretched across the sand.

I had recorded enough information to call it a day. I can finish the painting in the studio.

I went to over to the beach to tell Suzanne I was heading home.  She and I were the last painters left. 

Suddenly a police car and big red truck towing a boat pulled into Turbat's Creek Road. I  had to move my easel out of the boat launch area - fast!  

The police launched the boat in the water and took off for Vaughn's Island - hot on the trial of some outlaw reported to be over there. 

It was an exciting day at Turbat's Creek. I was happy to head home with an almost finished  painting! 

PAINT EAT SLEEP

Showers on Great Salt Bay

I just painted through sunny, cloudy, and rainy weather all in one four day stretch. I didn't care.  I stayed close to Great Salt Bay in Damariscotta, Maine, loving every minute. 

   

One day I painted a row of large pine trees ...

Great Salt Bay Pines, 8x16 oil on canvas

The next evening I painted a pond and meadows as the sun set behind the distant ridge.

Sunset Study, 8x16 oil on canvas

Another evening a huge bank of clouds moved in and the pond had such gorgeous colors...

Evening Study, 9x12 oil on panel

 I love August ! There is a deep summer atmosphere going on. Even on a misty showery day it is very subdued.

I stayed near my car in case the clouds decided to drop a lot of rain.

It was bright, and the air was thick with moisture. 

The clouds moved steadily overhead. It sprinkled for a few minutes. 

I kept painting, laying in the muted soft colors I saw in the meadows, trees and distant ridge. 

Every now and then the sun poked through so I kept my hat on to prevent a sun burn.

By mid-morning I finished a painting of the hilly meadow with the trees.

Great Salt Bay Farm has a mile of waterfront. Walking trails cross all over the property.  I  planned to walk down to the shore to paint, but it started to rain.  

I always carry my binoculars with me....so out they came. They are so handy in a situation like this.

I could paint my chosen subject and stay right next to my car !

I worked on the composition by painting in all the masses of trees, bushes and grass and leaving my lightest water and distant shapes unpainted.

I love painting this way because this is how I actually perceive everything... 

as interesting arrangements of shapes, lines and masses of different colors.

A visitor ! My best friend Libby arrived bringing a basket of blueberries hoping I would pause and have lunch with her. It's not raining, therefore a perfect time to sit and munch.

Then it's back to the binoculars and paint brushes. 

I look through the binoculars and stare intently at the trees. I memorize what I see. I put the binoculars away and paint. Gustav Klimt did this for some of the landscapes he painted. That's where I got the idea.  

It's still threatening to rain, but I know I have go paint at Oyster Creek before I pack up the brushes for the day. 

I park near the bridge looking up the creek at a farm on the distant bank.

It is getting late now and I know I have to move fast on this one. I sketch in the shapes on a 16x20 panel.

The tide has turned, it is just starting to go out.  

I mix a batch of colors. I place the color notes and values, picking and choosing as I go, painting with a large brush so I can get this scene down fast! 

This creek is way up at the top of the Great Salt Bay. It's tidal but the land around it looks more like inland Maine.   

It's almost evening but I still have enough light from the high overcast sky.

I like the feeling of this open expanse of water. I wish I was painting this view on a bigger panel so I could put in more details .

The breeze started to pick up and create patterns on the surface of the water.  Is this a sign of rain coming?  

I put in a few more colors, packed my car and hit the road. I have enough blocked in to finish all these paintings in the studio.  And I'm coming back here to paint in October... guaranteed! 

FOR MY NEW FALL CLASSES see... PAINT EAT SLEEP